1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156 
Exel drivers in strike ballot
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
More than 600 Exel drivers are to be balloted on strike action in support of a better pay offer.
The drivers, who deliver vehicle parts for Ford, Rover and Honda, have already rejected a 3,5% increase by a majority 3f nearly two to one.
Roy Abrahams, divisional officer of the United Road Transport Union, says nearly 12 hours of talks at the conciliation service ACAS on Friday (6 September) resulted In a marginally improved offer.
This will be considered by shop stewards tomorrow (13 September 1 before being put to a general vote of the drivers within the next fortnight.
-The offer is not being recommended, it is simply being reported back." Abrahams explains. "I think it could go either way."
He adds that the highest paid drivers in Exel's automotive division receive £5.57/hr for a guaranteed 45-hour working week. The new offer is over two years but Abrahams declined to give further details until after the shop stewards' meeting.
"It is very much down to market forces at the moment," he says. "Wage rates within the industry are going up faster than in industry generally. When two drivers were chasing every job we had a difficult time persuading employers to give significant increases, Our members now recognise they're in a completely different economic situation and they're going to take advantage of It."
A spokeswoman for Exel confirms that pay negotiations are continuing.